THE VISION

by Bernadette M. Crumb

Location: Meditation clearing on Yavin
Jerella settled down next to Rob in their favorite meditation spot, the sun
warmed rock relaxing her muscles as she smiled at him, then closed her eyes
to seek her center. Her breathing rate slowed and deepened, and her
heartbeat took on a new, soothing rhythm as the stresses of the day retreated.
As the sharp awareness of the physical world faded away, she felt herself
enveloped by the living energy field of the Force, and opened her mind to
it, allowing it to take her where it would.
A starfield swirled about her, coalescing into a single system with a
gleaming, living world swelling in her awareness. About the world darted a
myriad of starships coming and going to the landbound starport, while
others proceeded in stately orbit. A single ship--a Carack class light
cruiser part of her recognized--became the focus of the vision. Having no
control over it, she was swooped into the vessel's small docking bay, past
the sigils that denoted the ship's name: DIRJHA.
Her Force senses expanded in the bay, becoming aware of the aura of
Darkness and pulling back from it, as if to avoid being detected. Then, she
was moving through a series of ventilation ducts, maintenance accessways
and mazelike corridors: left, right, right, straight ahead, right, down,
left, left... There was a sense of caution, yet a sense of urgency as well.
The endless passage finally opened up before a door with "authorized
personnel only" emblazoned on it.
The door slid open before her, exposing a room with what appeared to be
several bacta tanks arranged along the back wall. The vision carried her
past the control consoles, up to the tanks which she realized were
occupied. The bodies which hung suspended in them were motionless except
for the movements of breathing, and the faces were semi-obscured by the
life support masks across the lower faces. An older woman, a young woman, a
girl... then the last... The face seen through the clear liquid expanded in
Jerella's "sight" until, even with the support mask on it, recognition sent
her slamming back the way she'd come, reversing her path at high speed
through the ship, through the docking bay, through the system, out into
space, until she...
...Started awake with a cry. "Octavia!"